Queen of the Wild
by muaaimoi
Summary: What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal.
1. Chapter 1

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

" You've got some nerve buster!" Cordelia sneered. She could not believe these low lives were trying to mess with one of her Cordettes. Admittedly, Valerie was a new recruit, one still in a probational period. And this incident was so not a point in her favor. Nor was the fact that she wasn't even trying to back Cordelia up. But while she was part of the Cordettes, no matter how loosely affiliated, she had Cordelia's protection.

"Uh-oh" Kyle intoned childishly," We're in trouble."

The rest of his little sycophant's laughed, idiots that they were. Did they not understand who they were messing with? She was Cordelia Chase!

"You better believe it, dweeb. Do you really think I'd waste my breath on any of you losers otherwise? Please, you don't even register on my radar. Like everyone else who can't live up to my expectations."

That jibe was aimed specifically at Heidi. She had wanted ever so desperately to be a Cordette. But she couldn't dress, she seemed unable to accept that her haircut was stupid, and last, but so not least, she could not appreciate the hotness of Keanu Revees. And that was unacceptable.

" Who wants to play court with Daddy's little princess." Heidi snarled stepping forward aggressively."

Please, Cordelia had been ruling the playground long before she realized that being rich meant she was even more privileged than she thought. Harmony's family was better off than her own, but that had never helped her in a battle of wills between them.

She rolled her eyes, stepping in front of Valerie protectively." You did, actually, from what I remember. Still trying to find what you missed in the matrix?"

That's when she heard a growl. They all turned their heads, all except Valerie, eyes caught in the glowing ones of the hyenas in the pen.

The exhibit room went silent.

Then Cordelia threw her head back and laughed. No, not laughed, she cackled. And the entirety of kyle's group joined her. Valerie looked at them, freaking out. She had only stayed because she was pretty sure Cordelia would kick her out if she ran. But if crazy was catching, then she was so not sticking around. With that thought she bolted. Cordelia turned. Watched her go, and laughed even harder.

None of them noticed the magic circle on the floor.

xXx

" Hey, since when are there new Cordettes?" Willow asked Xander, turning her head towards the entrance and back to the show.

Cordelia was making her usual dramatic entrance, Xander's briefly distracted by the very short leather skirt and the cleavage the really low cut shirt leaves in the open. But he's a teenage boy, and of all the things he's ever called Cordelia, ugly has never been one of them. Her ability to temporarily turn his brain to mush with her body is just another thing about her he finds annoying. Viva the We Hate Cordelia club.

" I don't know, since when are guy's Cordettes?" Just when he thought his opinion of those jerks can't get any lower, they go and prove him wrong. It's one thing to torment other kids just because they can. It's another that they're going to do it at Cordelia's side. He already considered Cordelia's social rule an evil all on it's own. Not quite as bad as vampires, and the other things that didn't do bump so much as smash in the night. But close.

She could certainly make just as many people miserable. And by choice, at that.

Xander watches Tor go out of his way to slam baseball player into a locker. Usually, when people are getting pushed around, Cordelia rolls her eyes. The Queen of Sunny-dale high she may be, but Cordelia has always preferred verbal decimation to giving someone bruises. As someone she's been tormenting for years, he would know. She could have just as easily found someone to beat him up for her, after all. Instead Cordelia baits him, and sometimes he even manages to get off a few good barbs of his own.

When all she does is laugh, Xander knows somethings very, very wrong.

**XxX**

**So I was gonna give the whole "someone else gets possessed" thing a try and actually looked up hyaenas. Turns out they rule by social structure, I immediately thought of our beloved Queen C. And now this puppy exists. Please tell me what you think, I love this fandom, but I'm sort of intimidated by it. Id really appreciate some feedback. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

Cordelia feels different.

It's not a bad feeling. No, it's the exact opposite. It's a great feeling. She feels powerful and alive in a way she never has before. Truly strong. Like she can make the world get on it's knees and worship her. The way it should. The way everyone should.

She laughs. Everything makes her laugh. Everything's just so _funny_.

She had been wrong about Rhonda, Heidi, Kyle, and Tor. Oh, they were still losers, Cordelia was never wrong about that. But they were her losers. Her court more than her Cordettes, even. Certainly more obedient that Harmony had ever managed to be.

She was their Queen. Not just a name, a pathetic little tittle that some head cheerleader had held before her. No, Cordelia was their true Queen. And they were her ever loyal subjects.

They strolled through the mall, school had let out at the zoo. As the alpha, Cordelia chose where they went after. And most loyal subjects or no, her pack had to dress to her standards, and they could not be trusted to outfit themselves.

She needed a new wardrobe herself regardless. One that would let everyone know who the alpha was. More than her usual fabulous clothes did anyway.

They headed towards the leather store.

xXx

Cordelia smiled in satisfaction as she reached her home. Her pack was well taken care of. She had fed them shortly after their shopping trip, and they all knew exactly what they would be wearing for the rest of the week.

She had even gotten Heidi a decent haircut. She was such a good alpha, no wonder they worshiped her.

She took a deep breath, enjoying her heightened senses. The world was in full technicolor now, there was so much more of it. Cordelia briefly wondered at how blind she been before, how weak. Then she dismissed the thought. What did it matter? Her eyes had been opened. She was strong now. Strong enough to protect what belonged to her.

And so she would.

Cordelia watched the sun set from her room. She could feel it under her skin, other predators beginning to walk the night. She turned back to her bed. Her pack was safe enough for now. She had made sure they all made it home when she dropped them off. Tonight she would rest. Tomorrow she would find those predators that would harm what was hers. And then make sure they would never walk the night again.

She nodded to herself, decision made. She was such a good alpha.

xXx

Cordelia laughed as Tor slammed yet another loser into the locker. Poor little Gamma. He'd gotten the least attention at their flashy entrance and was now taking it out on those who were actually lower than him. Kyle had won the beta position as former alpha. Heidi had settled into delta along with Rhonda. Though Rhonda was easily more dominant than both of them, she simply didn't feel the need to assert control, and that landed her as delta-beta. As for Tor, well, he was lowest on the totem pole. Gamma. Rhonda trumped him even with out trying.

He resented it terribly.

Cordelia laughed some more. The rest of the pack joining in.

" Hey, Cordy" Harmony approached her. False bravado rolling off her in waves. Harmony was far too used to loosing to her to truly expect to win. Not that it would keep her from trying." I thought leather went out of style int he eighties, or did you miss the memo?"

Cordelia snorted, not lady like in the least. But then why bother trying to be a lady when she was so much better? She was alpha." Please, in fashion there's only looking good and looking stupid, since all the boys are drooling over me, that means your the one making a fashion blunder. Or did you miss the memo?"

Her pack laughed, laud and jeering. Harmony glared at her, flushing and walking away. It was hard to argue the truth. And with a body like hers, she would always look good. Her taste and style only meant she choose to look even better.

xXx

Cordy sighed as her pack descended on the raw meat isle of the grocery store. To think they would have actually eaten that thing live. Not that Herbert hadn't smelled yummy. And Cordelia had seriously considered it when it started freaking out, the fear was absolutely delicious. But then she realized it probably hadn't even gotten flea shots, and that was unacceptable. Besides, descending on prey just because it was there showed a lack of control she would not tolerate from herself or her pack.

Not that it meant she wouldn't feed them when they were hungry. And while it wasn't as fresh as Herbert would have been, the raw meat isle would fill them all up. Something the pig wouldn't have managed. He would have just been a snack.

They piled into her car and began to eat. The Forrest hams she'd chosen were really tasty. It took six of them to fill her up though. As alpha Cordelia ate the most. The rest where sated by much, much less meat. She yipped at her pack, feeling sleepy. There was a graveyard nearby with plenty of grass. They could catch a nice sun nap there, then get up and head to the Bronze.

All that was missing from her life was a mate. And then everything would be perfect.

xXx

"...So then Cordelia glared at them, and they left. But when she looked at him. Herbert was totally wigging out like twice a bad." Buffy finished her story.

Xander nods in complete agreement. Glad it's not just him," Queen C and those guys she's bringing into the in crowd have been acting really weird."

" I don't know" Willow interjects," I mean Cordelia wasn't nice to begin with, and now she's hanging out with guys that are bigger jerks than she was. Maybe their just making her even meaner."

" I believe Willow has a point" Giles agreed." People, teenagers in particular, don't always choose the best company to keep. While it's not a pleasant change from what I've gathered it's perfectly natural. No supernatural element's involved."

Buffy begins to nod hesitantly, but she still seems unsure.

Xander frowns at them," Natural? This is Cordelia Chase were talking about! If those guys were suddenly ten times popular or rich or something, I might understand. That's what Cordy likes. But their not. And Cordelia doesn't let anything that isn't pop culture or fashion related influence her at all."

Buffy lets out a low whistle," I didn't think you knew her that well."

"Yeah" Willow mutters, and she doesn't sound happy about it.

Xander feels heat rise on his cheeks and absolutely hates it," Keep your friends close and enemies closer. I'm a founding memeber of the we hate Cordelia club, remember? Of course I know stuff about her, if I didn't, how could I hate her for them?"

"Oh" Willow says, and she sounds cheerful again.

But Buffy's still smirking at him, and he's getting a feeling Giles is totally laughing at him. It sucks.

" Well." Buffy says," I hate Vampires a lot, but I don't think I know any of them that well."

" Well, I've hated Cordelia since I was six years old." Xander justifies, once more." I've got a good decade more of practice at it. So give it time, give it time."

" Since you were six?" Willow actually sounds surprised, then playful." Geez, and we only started the club in six grade, that's when I really started hating her. All that time wasted."

They laugh, and the tension in the room brakes. He hadn't realized how bad it had gotten.

" So is there an application or something? How do I join?" Buffy quips.

Giles gives them a fond smile as they snicker and laugh, and then brings the conversation to patrol routes. As usual, they decided to meet up first at the bronze.

**XxX**

**So the whole pack structure thing was interesting to research in the whole; some people actually take this stuff way too seriously kind of way. Because their are social human dynamics that echo pack dynamics pretty eerily. On the other hand it gave me a totally boss idea for the CordyxXander romance. Which you guys will be seeing next chapter. I want to point out that Cordelia is an alpha female. And while that's what Xander seems attracted to, he's not an alpha himself. I'm totally using that as an excuse to make primal!Cordelia way stronger than primal!Xander and also more in control of the pack, I don't think Xander in the episode acted like an alpha at all. But my Cordelia definitely will. Also, sorry I took so long to get this out. I was in something of a rut and forcing myself to write makes it come out awfully. So it's something i try to avoid doing. Anyways thanks loads to those of you who reviewed and added this story to your alerts and favorites lists. I made me very happy! And I assure you a happy author is one who tries to write!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

The Bronze was, as always, full of boys. What it wasn't, was full of potential mates. Cordelia watched the crowd around her with sharp eyes. No one dared to meet her gaze. Weak fools, always cowering away. None of them were worthy of licking the bottom of her shoes.

They were far too fabulous for this wimpy throng of dweebs. She had great taste in shoes.

Cordelia glanced back at her pack. They were mostly curled around each other, having given in to their animal instincts. Personal space was a thing of the past for her court. They were gazing at the dance floor too. Scenting the prey.

" They smell good." Tor murmured. He wasn't happy with his place in the pack. It made him blood thirsty. Cruel, ambitious, and power hungry. Cordelia kind of liked it. But it was too bad. He couldn't be allowed to get any ideas above his station. He would be punished the second he stepped out of line.

Cordelia smiled viciously, she couldn't wait. Tor wasn't the only one who was blood thirsty.

Cordelia snapped her head towards the door.

A scent caught her attention. Death, she could smell it, the faint decay of a fresh corpse, maybe a day rotted, but smelled so old. There was blood too, that was fresh, and she was pretty sure it was from a pig. And underneath it all the sharp tang of a predator.

It was disturbing.

It was familiar. This was what she had sensed before. What she had to protect her pack from.

She continued scanning the crowd, trying to tie a face to the scent. It was so confusing. An anomaly. Cordelia didn't like those. It might mean danger, danger to her pack. That was unacceptable.

She was alpha. Only she was allowed to hurt those who belonged to her.

Cordelia stood. The crowd wasn't about to disperse, it was up to her to follow her nose. It just figured the Bronze would be packed tonight.

" Kyle, with me. Be discreet." She whispered. No one else could have heard over the sound of the music. She may have been approaching an unknown danger. But she wasn't stupid.

Kyle disengaged himself from the others. Disappearing into the crowd. Having a beta was good for something it seemed.

Cordelia followed the scent up some stairs. Her nose led her into a corner. There was a man tucked into the shadows. Handsome, but not human. He smelled strong, even through the smell of death. This was a strong predator.

But Cordelia didn't have to worry.

He wasn't as strong as her.

" Hi!" She said sitting herself before him." What's your name?"

She met his eyes imperiously. He stared back, what ever animal instinct drove him recognizing the predator inside of her. He was the first to look away.

" Hello." He asked." I'm Angel, who are you?"

Cordelia smiled, a baring of fangs. This might just be easy after all.

" My name is Cordelia Chase. And your going to tell me what you are, and what the best way is to go about killing things like you. If you save me the trouble, you might just make it out alive."

Angels head snapped up and he tensed. That was never a good sign. It meant he was either preparing to fight or to run. If he fought, Cordelia would have to beat him to death all over again. If he ran, she would have to chase him a bit before she killed him.

Either way, sh probably wouldn't get the information she wanted.

So she told him so. If he wanted to live, he had to talk, simple. If he was going to be stupid, well, Cordelia hoped he ran. She always liked a good hunt.

Angel met her eyes again, a challenge this time. " I'm three hundred years old, do you really want to do this."

Cordelia let her beast flow into her eyes. The swell of power almost leaving her drunk. " Do you really think I care? I'll be the one to walk away if _you_ do this."

Cordelia was being completely honest, completely alpha. He could smell the truth on her skin, see it in her eyes. He was animal enough to want to survive. So he began to talk.

Apparently, she would be needing some stakes some time soon. She wondered how much they cost. Where would she get them anyway? Did the Mall stock them?

xXx

They were standing just outside of the Bronze.

" Vampires? For real?" Heidi asked.

Cordelia slapped her, she'd been meaning to do that all day. Heidi was just aggravating. What was with the constant need to state the obvious? Did she think she was clever?" Would an amazing alpha like me bother to lie?"

" Never." Kyle answered. He was such a brown noser. But it could be nice sometimes. Like now. He'd never even entertain the idea of doubting her out loud.

"So how do we kill them?" Rhonda asked, eyes darkening at the promise of the hunt. That strength, that hunger, was what could have made her a beta, or perhaps even an alpha if Cordelia hadn't been stronger. But she was, and Rhonda simply wasn't assertive.

Still, maybe Tor wasn't the only one she should be looking forward to punishing. One could never be too careful with a new pack.

" Stakes. A lot of the stuffs pretty well known. Fire works. Sunlight, too. Stakes through the heart. Crosses repel and bun them. Garlic is a no go, but decapitation works." She informed her pack.

" Um, Alpha, just asking, why didn't you decapitate the vampire you interviewed?" That was Tor, stupid little Gamma.

Cordelia back handed him too. It was the principle of the thing. As if a Gamma could question her on anything. Psht, please. She answered all the same, the rest of the pack looked curious, even if Cordelia felt it was fairly obvious. She was alpha for a reason, and part of that job was to enlighten them.

" Information's pretty important, duh! He's one of them so he'll know where they go. Right now most new ones hand out by the cemeteries, but when we kill all of those, we'll need a new place to hunt. All prey will wise up eventually. Angel will have us new places to go. At least, he will if he want's to live."

She observed her pack. Kyle and Rhonda looked happy and eager to go. Tor was shooting her wounded looks, but he couldn't stop lapping at the blood on his split lip, that was excitement. Only Heidi seemed nervous.

Cordelia grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up to her face. Up close and personal." Are you doubting my ability to protect you?"

" Never Alpha." Heidi gasped in pain. Smart girl. But so very weak. Cordelia would have to be very tough on her if she ever wanted to toughen her up. The weak didn't live long after all.

She couldn't help but wonder how Heidi had beat both Rhonda and Tor. There had to be something she was missing. Cordelia hated that. Especially when it came to her pack. It belonged to her, she should know everything about it.

That was when an interesting scent caught her attention for the second time that night.

xXx

It wasn't even hard to get him away from his little friends. Stupid losers didn't know what they had. And if Cordelia had her way, they never would.

And Cordy always got her way. Always.

Even before her new senses had opened up the world to her, Cordelia had known Xander was different. Loser actually tried to give back as good as he got. Hell, sometimes he even gotten close.

But that wasn't why she'd ordered Kyle and Tor to 'fetch' him.

No, when they brought him, ranting, nervous, and dragging his feet, it wasn't because he could be clever. It was because Xander Harris was one in a million. He was Omega.

And that, that was beyond different. Better than special. It was extraordinary.

Outside of the pack and yet at the very heart of it. Strong enough to stop the usual pack instincts from kicking in, yet knowing better than to try and lead. Oh an Omega would, if the alpha was weak. An Omega would do anything to keep the pack safe. To make it strong. Even go against it's very nature. An Omega would lead when it couldn't follow. And not one the pack would argue it. But Cordelia was a strong alpha.

A weak one would have never recognized him for what he was. A weak alpha didn't deserve an Omega. But Cordelia did. And Xander would be happy to follow her lead. More than that, Xander would make the the others just as happy to follow.

Cordelia slammed him against the ally wall. Pinned every inch of his body against every inch of her own. An Omega. How fortunate. And to think, dweeb boy was actually worth something after all.

He was perfectly human, but Cordelia could smell it. The ruthlessness, the loyalty, the strength. Xander wasn't strong like her. It wasn't the same kind of strength. Of course not. She had no interest in another alpha. Xander was omega. He wasn't meant to rule, he was meant to care.

But in his own way, Xander was just as strong as her. Just as perfect for the Pack. Xander Harris would be her mate. All that was left was for Cordelia to figure out a way to make him like them. And she knew just where to start looking.

But first...

Cordelia kissed him. He'd ceased struggling the second she'd pinned him. But when she kissed him, Xander went completely slack. True surrender. And it tasted sweet.

Absolutely perfect.

xXx

Xander leaned against the alley wall, completely dazed. He didn't know diddly squat about what just happened. He knew some parts were weird, some wiggy, very much so actually. But some part of it. Well one part of it, at least, had been nice.

He blinked.

Yeah, that was totally hellmouthy. In no sane world did Cordelia Chase get her two new goons to fetch him for kissage. Hell, in no insane world did this happen.

Whatever had gone down had to come straight out of the mouth of Hell.

Nothing else would make anything resembling sense. Because Cordelia Chase had kissed him. She'd brushes those full warm lips against his own before claiming him with a passion that had made him weak in the knees.

Not that he would ever admit it. Because it had never happened. Definitely not, he'd simply had a psychotic break with reality. It was all very tragic. He completely blamed the hell mouth. Except, you know, it hadn't actually happened.

Maybe he was on drugs. Someone could have totally roofied him. It wasn't like he was smart enough to notice. But no, it couldn't be. Because absolutely nothing had happened.

Nope. Nothing at all.

Why hello there, denial sir, so nice to see you're not just a river in Egypt.

Xander touched his lips.

They were warm.

**XxX**

**I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! Please consider the extra long chapter part of the apology. I've made my excuses on my profile if you want to check it out. Also there's a poll. So if you like my story Ideas in this fandom I'd check it out if I was you. If Cordelia seems a little to powerful in the face off with Angel, I'll let you in on a little secret; that only worked because he's a vampire. For the rest of the explanation you'll have to wait for the rest of the fic. Also, thank you all who Reviewed! Yay! You guys rock my socks! Always loved and cherished. Thank you for taking the time to lave me a line. It really helps me write!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

There was a freaky circle thing on the floor of the hyena pen. Cordelia wondered how she'd missed that.

The rest of her pack fanned out behind her. Heidi and Tor on one side and Kyle and Rhonda on the other. Proper for pack hierarchy, but it left her her right flank feeling distinctly weak. Not that any violence had been necessary. It had been pathetically easy to get in. No guards, nothing remotely like security. She was almost disappointed. But maybe it meant that they could stop by the Zebras before they left.

Zebra meat was always so good...

" Hey! You kids! What do you think your doing here!" A man burst it. He smelled awful.

Cordelia lifted the stupid zoo keeper by the throat. She wrinkled her nose. The scent was so close now. So desperate, pathetic, greedy, and weak. Not even his fear could make the scent pleasant. And Cordelia was usually all for that. Fear made everything smell like prey, and prey always smelled good.

Or at least she'd thought so. But apparently prey could smell disgusting after all.

" Oh gross." Heidi mumbled.

" I can't believe your touching him." Rhonda said, voice equal parts horror and awe.

" Alpha will always do what's best for the pack." Kyle said, his voice was all awe. He was a good beta.

" Gross prey, who'd a thought?" Tor was all horrified. He had trouble wrapping his mind around it.

" Yeah." Heidi muttered faintly. Tor wasn't the only one with a redefined world view. That right there was yet another reason she was the only one strong enough to be Alpha. She could be grossed after she'd gotten what she needed from the fool. If she didn't just hurry up and kill him.

Just touching him was so, so gross. She couldn't even eat him after, the stupid waste of meat.

" Please let me go." The piece of filth begged.

" Gladly." Cordelia said, feeling her beast flow forward, into her eyes." Just as long as you tell us what you know."

The man told them everything. About Primal's, how he'd wanted their power, their freedom. She sent Tor to retrieve the tomes he told them about. Then she ordered the rest of her pack outside as she killed him. No matter how horrible he smelled, her pack lacked the self control to be presented with fresh meat. She was much better than any of them, and she still felt her mouth water.

Cordy shook her head, giving the body on the ground a faint scowl. As if she would ever lower herself to such inferior fare. But she shouldn't have even felt the pull. And yet, she did. Something was happening. Their animals were coming to the fore. She could feel it. The ease with which her beast flowed under her skin. Just beneath the surface.

Those books better give her some answers fast. Cordelia didn't even want to think about what she might do in a rage. Her pack might not survive it.

xXx

Heidi slammed the book down." I don't understand any of this!"

Her pack was spread out in her bedroom. They had fed. But it had taken the staff of her manor two tries before they'd understood what Cordelia meant by raw meat. None of them had been very happy about it.

Cordelia growled a warning. Now was not the time to try her patience.

" None of us are good at stuff like this." Kyle offered hesitantly.

" I'm so not an egg head." Tor agreed, flipping absently through the pages in his book. He wasn't even pretending to read.

" We will figure. This. Out." Cordelia bit out. They didn't have much choice in the matter.

" Hey, um Alpha?" Rhonda asked, looking up from her own tome," I'm not an egghead either, but I know someone who is."

Cordelia smiled. That sounded like it had potential.

xXx

Jonathan Levison had been Rhonda's neighbor as far back as either of them could remember. They had even been friends at some point. Back in the play ground when their biggest worry was how long they could play in the sandbox.

But then school happened. Rhonda made new friends and Jonathan didn't.

She'd easily dropped him, and it had been a good five years since she'd bothered to direct so much as a sentence his way. So he was understandably confused when he opened his door to find her behind it.

She wasn't alone, that was all Jonathan had time to notice before Tor's fist made contact with his face.

xXx

" This is absolutely fascinating!" Jonathan exclaimed.

He'd gotten over being kidnapped once they'd shown him the books. Really, only a true blue geek would think some dusty old tomes made everything okay. Not that she was complaining, if anything, it made the whole thing easier.

"You have three hours to figure out what happened to us." Cordelia threatened him.  
Jonathan nodded, "yeah."

He hadn't even looked up from the book. You'd think Cordelia didn't have to threaten him or something.

Really, dweebs.

He barely seems to notice when they drag him back to the zoo house. The way her Pack scents the air makes Cordelia very glad she'd had the foresight to dump the Zookeepers body in the hyena pen.

xXx

" The ritual went wrong" Jonathan says, grandly, like he's imparting some great wisdom. Stupid Dork.

" Tell us something we don't know" Rhonda snarls. Good girl, she knows it's not just Jonathan's neck on the line.

" This guy didn't set it up properly, I don't think he understood it at all. The act of aggression was still strong enough to activate it though." Jonathan continued, as if he'd never been interrupted, apparently knowledge made the geek brave, who knew?" Besides, he was trying to take in all the primal's, and that's impossible, if there hadn't been five of you, it probably wouldn't have worked. I think what it did was switch you out with the spirits of the hyenas."

" Isn't that what was supposed to happen?" Kyle asked, saving her the trouble.

" Not at all." Jonathan replied enthusiastically, the dweeb looked like christmas had come early." The hyenas themselves are possessed, Primals are like spiritual symbiotes, they bond with an animal aligned with their element, it allows the animal extra strength and power, on exchange for a host where they can grow more powerful and spread. In this case, the hyenas wanted to escape, and since the animals are dominant to the primal spirit, their spirits left their bodies and possessed you in the primal's stead."

" So the real Primals are still in there?" Heidi asked, pointing at the Hyena Pen, " And were stuck with some hyenas in our brain?"

" That's what so fascinating" Jonathan continued to enthuse, " You should all be completely possessed, your own spirits under the rules of the hyenas, totally worn away, especially the longer you're possessed, if you've been this way since the school trip, you should have started eating people by now, it's what hyenas do! Not that, I'm volunteering or anything." He finished quickly, the idea of cannibalism finally bringing him back from geek heaven.

" So that the ritual went wrong was a good thing?" Cordelia asked. Letting her eyes flash ominously, she'd always known how to use her looks for great affect.

" Yes." Jonathan squeaked, backing away.

" So how do we fix it?" Tor asked, finally joining the conversation. His eyes intent, he didn't like the Idea that he was being worn away.

" Well the proper way for a human to do it is to offer up a sacrifice along with an act of aggression to prove dominance. Dominance is very important, cuz Primal's were like blessed protectors or something and yeah..." Jonothan finished, trailing off once he'd caught the considering looks the packs were giving him.

He hadn't been the only one who's attention was caught by the idea of cannibalism. Her pack looked only too eager to give it a try. Jonathan was smelling like fear again, and he smelled like prey was suppose to, absolutely delicious.

Cordelia exhaled forcefully, catching herself scenting Prey and knowing this had to stop, they had to fix this.

" Please don't eat me!" Jonathan screamed, cowering in his corner as Heidi began to approach.

It was unacceptable, how dare she hunt with out Cordelia's permission! That's when she caught sight of the zookeepers shoe in the hyena Pen. Sure it had been a piss poor sacrifice, but she'd totally do better next time. All that was missing was the act of aggression. For dominance.

Cordelia could be dominant alright.

She surged forward, grabbing Heidi by the hair and dragging her towards the circle doohickey.

Then she slammed her face first on the floor, and the world went white.

**XxX**

**Hmm, is this too cliffy, or just enough? I can't tell really, hopefully the next chapter will clear things up a bit, and while I appreciate attention to details as much as the next author, I didn't go into this completely blind. I did some research as I mentioned before, All I'm asking for is a little suspension of disbelief. Well that and my own terminology, as some people pointed out, hyenas aren't a wolf pack, so if I'm using the terminology it's going to be different. And for a reason, even if it's one as simple as ' cuz it's convenient'. So drop me a line, let me know what you think!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

Somewhere where she ends and the Primal begins, Cordelia comes to see it all. Or rather feel. The primal isn't human enough to communicate. Not in any language she can comprehend. Instead she's treated to a rush of impressions, sensations, and even images.

Somehow, she understands.

It had been one with a warrior once. A strong man, so strong, strong enough to make more kin. The five other Primal's had come into being inside his brothers. They had fought, long and hard. Protected their home as much as they could. There was so much to fight. Demons, their kin, demons who looked like kin, bad shaman. Yet they had flourished, they had lived, they had loved.

Then they had been betrayed. The loved one had been a bad shaman, she had torn the Primals away. Torn the warriors in two. Killed the other half, trapped the rest into her pets. But they had still been strong enough to deny her. Strong enough to get away.

But not strong enough to find another half again.

Locked away from those who lusted for their power. Into beasts, animals who couldn't make more kin. Mere beast who would taint them. Only the sun kept them alive. Only the sun was worth surviving.

The Primals had been stuck inside those hyenas a long time. Cordelia couldn't say how long. Time didn't mean the same to either creature, but she was pretty sure it had been a few hundred years at least. Long enough for the hyenas nature to taint the primals. Maybe they were more primitive now, or maybe they'd evolved, adapted in the only way they could.

But the other primals would never be the same, or near enough, anyway. And the primal inside Cordelia knew it.

It was the only one who had remained mostly whole. It had been drawn to her not by her aggression, but by her will to protect. To defend what she viewed as hers.

The other primals were too warped by the hyenas they'd inhabited. They had become beasts themselves.

Cordelia opened her eyes. She couldn't see how she glowed gold. Too distracted by the different lights before her own eyes. She could see it now. The soft yellow light of the Primals, the taint of the hyenas inside them, sickeningly green. She almost laughed. There was a female hyena spirit inside of kyle and Heidi, Tor and Rhonda weren't so fortunate and landed the males ones. Well, it certainly explained what was wrong with the hierarchy.

She blinked, sighed. It simply wouldn't do.

She would not allow such weak creatures inside her pack. Not when she could make more. She was much stronger than her primals old warrior had been. So much stronger. Certainly strong enough to resist the beast inside her.

Cordelia examined the energy inside herself, felt each separate entity. The Primal, the Hyena, and Herself. She focused on the Acid green of her own Hyena. Just that extra bit brighter than the rest. The strongest. She held it inside herself and bought it to the fore. She felt along the bond with her pack, every single individual thread. Cordelia could feel them, Kyle, Rhonda, Heidi, and Tor. Each separate entities, Person, Primal, Hyena.

And then she began to pull. Pull them inside herself, pooling all of it, Primal and hyena into the deep acid green core inside her. It burned, but she wouldn't fail in this. Couldn't afford to. Not when she wanted to live, the pack was life, it could not be allowed to be weak.

Not in this town.

So Cordelia ignored her wreathing pack on the floor, shut her ears to their moans of pain, and pulled it all out. Primal and hyena. She just barely manages to leave behind the person.

Then far too full, feeling like she will burst into animal rage and light, Cordelia destroys it all. It's surprisingly simple, easy enough. She melds the warped Primal inside her with the person. Together they are much, much stronger than any hyena, easily strong enough for the whole Pack.

She laughs as she feels them die inside of her. The Primal hadn't been the only one warped by the hyena after all.

xXx

The people who were once Pack flee.

Heidi is the first on her feet. Rabbit like, she runs. Cordelia's fairly certain it doesn't even occur to her to look back.

Tors next. He rolls to his knees with a painful groan. Makes it onto his feet with a whimper. He shoots her an inscrutable look as he turns and simply walks away.

Rhonda doesn't look at her, neither does Kyle. Rhonda runs, or tries to run, mostly she fails, but Cordelia can hear her steps becoming surer the further away she gets.

Kyle stays exactly where he is.

Cordelia feels hollow inside.

" Why did you do that?" he asks, begs.

" Aren't you glad you're free?" Cordelia questions, genuinely curious. This is not a reaction she had expected.

" Not really." Kyle answers, honest. She can smell a lie, and his truth is earnest.

" Why?" Cordelia asks, she knows why she still hold the Primal. Power has always appealed to her. There's no mystery there. But this? This she didn't see coming.

" I liked being pack. You were my queen, I was happy to serve." The reply is prompt. Kyle isn't thinking about it too hard. It's clear enough for him. Cordelia should have realized he hadn't given her enough trouble as a beta. Kyle was clearly a submissive. He liked having someone else be in charge.

" I could be again." Cordelia offers. The Cordelia who had been wouldn't have. The Cordelia that had only ever been human would have been horrified at killing the zoo keeper, danger to the pack that he was, would have been horrified at the all meat diet, would have loathed every stitch of the clothing she was wearing.

The Cordelia that had been much more, and much less didn't care. She understood strength, understood need, understood kin and Pack. That was all that was important. And her soul ached. No kin, no pack. She was lonely.

" Really?" Kyle asks, and he sounds so hopeful. Like Cordelia has offered him the sun and the stars. Not a place in her pack, a new half of kin. She looks into Kyles eyes and knows that what she's offering means so much more to him than any of that.

Perhaps he is like her already; warped.

"Yes." She says, and again, it's so easy, so simple. She kneels beside him, cradles his head in her lap, tilt his chin, expose his neck, and buries her teeth in his throat. She floods his person with her light, coaxes another being like her own inside him.

When she pulls back, the raw would on his neck stitches itself back together. Primals heal well, but Kyle looks like he's in the need for another sun nap.

Dawn is soon, she can feel it under her skin.

" Thank you alpha." Kyle rasps slightly. She smiles a him, with all the warmth and joy of not having to be alone. She never want's to be alone again.

A faint squeak from the corner distracts them.

xXx

Jonathan had watched it all from his corner. Equally awed and terrified.

But he's a genius.

It's something he ignores most of the time. He's a geek to begin with, that sets him apart enough. It's not even like he's the smartest kid in school. Oh no, that would mean he had an Identity. No, that tittle belongs to Willow Rosenberg, and the other true intellectual giants. Only they have a hope of fighting her over that tittle.

Jonathan is just a lot smarter than most people is all. It's better that way. Sort of.

He's still a genius. So he works it out. They had all been possessed, they had all been degrading, animal spirits coming out and planning to have Jonathan for dinner. Then Cordelia had grabbed Heidi, slammed her down, done something.

Whatever it was made her glow. It was beautiful. The light seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her, he's never seen anything so amazing, never seen someone so incredible.

Then the others started to glow. And Cordelia had still been doing whatever it was she did. Pulling at their light until it faded away.

After that it looked like they weren't possessed anymore. Three of them left, Kyle stayed. Kyle who wanted to be possessed again. Only not.

Jonathan glances at the pen he had been cowering against. The Hyenas inside lie still, dead. Their definitely not hyenas anymore. That only leaves one option, Primals. Spiritual Symbiotes, he'd called them. He wants one.

" Me too." Jonathan says, speaking up for once in his life. What's the worse that could happen? If she says no, he's no worse off than before.

It takes everything he has to meet Cordelia's eyes when her stare bores into him.

xXx

Cordelia turns him too.

Jonathan's weak, but he's smart, and her pack needs that. Kyle isn't terribly strong himself. But he'll do, for now. She can train him, she plans to train them both regardless. She can protect them, but her strength alone won't make the pack truly strong.

She hums happily as she drives them home. The joy of new Kin singing in her bones. She still has plans to hunt monsters, but she won't be much use at the moment. She's not strong enough for a tough fight. She's tired, all the power she's channeled has left her worn out.

Tomorrow. She'll start tomorrow.

But first...

Cordelia drives back towards the Bronze. She opens her window, keeping her senses honed for that one scent she'd been extra sure to memorize.

She finds it easily enough, mildly surprised when she drives up to him, he's still up. Walking down a block.

" Hello Xander Harris" Cordelia all but purrs.

**XxX**

**Hmm was that cliffy again? Opps ( Not really.). I figured a lot has been explained in this chapter, that means lack of tension ( Which google informs me is crucial for good writing), which means I have to work it up again. Did it work? I was trying to present the Primal as other than the Hyena while making it clear that it's been changed. I figure a few hundred years with an animal brain will bring out the animal in anything. Did I succeed? Also, tried to make it clear Cordy didn't make it out of the possession, and subsequent blending, unscathed. Her mentality is very important for the plot of the story. Kinda like Buffys ' humans are good and monsters are evil' mentality. It's understandable, as the slayer, she needs to have that to be effective, whereas for our dear Queen C, her motto is more " all for one and one for all", With her being the one and the pack being all". Hopefully I manage to make things clear... Drop me a line? **

**Thanks all those who reviewed last time, you are awesome and reading youre comments helped me write this chapter! Thank you so very much! And for those of you reading this and ignoring the review button, yeah you, you know who you are, Review!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

Xander jumps like a scalded cat.

It's perfectly understandable really. He'd been tense all night, Cordelia's previous actions winding him up in a way fighting vampires hasn't since that first night. When he's fighting vampires, at least he has Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, at his side. When confronting Cordelia, he's pretty much on his own. Not that he had planned to confront Cordelia. He would have been perfectly happy to go to bed and pretend the kissing had never happened, Teenage Boy cornered by Hot Girl or no, this is Cordelia Chase, and while Xander is much more aware of her than he would ever like to admit, it doesn't mean he likes it.

He was in health class with everyone else when they went over hormones. He knows it's just his body being stupid about Cordelia's, frankly astonishing, curves. He understands puberty and how even the wind blowing can get embarrassing. It doesn't mean anything, that he's attracted to her. A good third of their school is, basically anyone whose attracted to women has to admit that she's gorgeous. It doesn't suddenly make her a good person. And it certainly doesn't explain why she calls out to him in the dawn.

" Down boy." Cordelia teases, and there's something remarkably like fondness in her eyes. It's nothing like any teasing she's done before. At least not in about ten years. Not once there were others and Cordy was suddenly queen of the play ground. Too good to play with the regular riffraff like Xander. Geez, he hasn't even thought of that since fifth grade, once Cordelia had started making fun of his Wills.

Xander feels like someone has poured cold water down his spine at the sight. He should have said something. Warned Willow, Buffy, and Giles. The Apocalypse was coming. Surely, this was a sign, blood in the water, raining frogs, Cordelia chase smiling with easy affection. Something was so very wrong, and hellmouthy, and why, why couldn't he have just let himself get snacked on by a vamp tonight?

Then Cordelia's eyes narrowed with disgust and Xander thought for a second that everything was right in the world. " Why do you smell like Vampire? And...Dust?"

And oh, there goes the world again, twisting left and right, giving him quite the sickening feeling of vertigo.

" Vampires? What Vampires? There are no Vampires here. No vampires of any sort. Vampires don't exist, actually, so there! And what do you mean I smell like them anyway?" Some day's Xander really wishes Willow babble wasn't contagious. This was one of those days. And surely his voice wasn't always this high?

" Don't Start with me buster." Cordelia ordered. Sliding the door open and getting straight out of the car." I've had really long day. So no games. Why do you smell like Vampire dust?"

xXx

This is hardly the first time Cordelia Chase has had to stare Xander Harris down. As usual, Xander's the first to look away.

" How do you even know about Vampires? I thought you forgot all about them!" Xander says, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

" People do that?" She asks, before she can help herself. It's usually harder to distract her from a goal, but if there's something that will wipe knowledge of the threat from her mind, she needs to know. Cordelia growls, frustration growing, won't this day ever end? She's tired, soul deep, dog dead, tired. She'd just wanted to cuddle with her mate or a bit, tuck her head into his pulse point and surround herself with his scent. But nooo, he just had to smell like Vampires.

" Tell me!" Cordelia demanded, glaring with all her wrath. There was a lot of wrath, definately a lot of that.

" It's Sunny Dale blindness!" Xander admitted." When people don't know what their facing, or looking at something they don't understand, they just forget about it, or act like it was something else. You were attacked at the bronze by vampires a few weeks ago. You didn't remember, you thought it was gang members. "

Cordelia stares at him in shock, a denial on the tip of her tongue. But then she stops, thinks about her memories of that night, how they blurred, indistict but for what she knew. Or clearly simply thought she knew.

" How is it you remember then?" This is clearly vital information. Wars are won and lost on information, enemy movements, patterns to be found and exploited, resources, both the enemies and your own. Just thinking about it all is exhausting. But Cordelia is strong. She was before, and she was stronger now. Humanity was at war, though it seemed to have forgotten somehow, and Cordelia was on the front lines now. Her and her mate. She needed to know everything he knew.

" If you have proof..." Xander began hesitantly." I'm not really sure how it works, you'll have to ask G-man, he knows more about things. But I'm pretty sure if it's undeniable, like staring at you straight in the face. If you have reminders. That kind of thing, you kind of can't forget."

Some part of Cordelia relaxes, the part that had been worrying specifically about forgetting. She's changed now, not like she had been. There will be no forgetting for her, of that, she's sure. But now other parts of her have begun to worry about other things. About this war she has found herself in and how she's pretty sure humanity is losing. Especially as most of it doesn't know a thing.

But those are not things she will tackle now. She's tired enough as it is. It's not like her new problems are going anywhere. She's not that lucky.

" And the Vampires smell and the dust?" She asks, finally back to her point. She would be unsurprised to find that Xander has fought them, he is an Omega after all, and alturism is the blood of their veins.

" Those things are kind of one and the same." Xander says. "That's sort of what happens when you stake a Vamp. Poof and then there's dust everywhere."

Cordelia nods, Angel hadn't mentioned that, but it's not an oversight she appreciates. He's going to have to pay for that. And then Cordelia will wring out all the information he has, not just the bits about vampires. But there are more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

Cordelia grabs Xander's arm, spinning him effortlessly and pinning him to the Car. She smiles, feels the dawn coming from under her skin. Lets the light inside her glow just a little too strong. Feels it mingel with the light inside Xander. Not enough to change him, though the temptations there. Very tempting, the strength of Xander's light is beautiful, perfectly complimentary to her own. They will be wonderful together, and soon.

They will bring the monsters in the world to their knees. Cordelia makes a pleased growl, buries her nose into Xander's neck and ignores the frantic beat of his pulse. She knows she should explain, but she's happy where she is and she's made her intentions clear enough anyway. The promise of power the Primal presents is just gravy. The real treat is what she and Xander will be someday.

She only notices Xander had been struggling once it ceases. And she smiles into his neck, lets her tongue flick out to taste his pulse mostly to feel him jolt. Cordelia chuckles. Letting the scent of her mate erase all her troubles and just breathes. Light and content. Her mate is protected, in her arms, the sun is shinning bright and new, lending her strength. Her pack is perfectly fine, tucked away for the night. No matter what comes after, what she learns, or what she once knew and has come to forget, today will be a good day.

She kisses Xander just once, as softly as she dares. She needs her rest, and kissing her mate for a moment too long will bring certain urges to the fore. Urges that aren't conductive to resting at all. Although...Some things are just too nice to resist.

She gives Xanders bottom a firm squeeze. He squeaks, lets out a sound not unlike a whimper.

" Later loser." She taunts, playful and possessive. She watches him in her car mirror until he's out of sight. The half bewildered half terrified expression on his face is very cute.

She drops of the second she gets home, doesn't even bother to change her clothes.

She dreams of wild plains, trusty spear in her hands, her brothers, the clan at her back. And all the while the sun gleams, welcome heat in blue skies.

**XxX**

**So this is sort of an intro of what I've mentally dubbed 'General Cordy'. The primal was once part of a great chieftan who protected the land and blah, blah, etc. etc. Cordy has inherited that, which is why she will approach demon hunting the way she does and have no patience for Buffy's solo act. I hope his chapter finds you well, and Merry winter Holiday. Whatever it is you celebrate! Please drop me a line, I'll consider it a present!  
**

** Review!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

Cordelia relives two lives while she sleeps.

She dreams of the sun at her back. The tall grass of the Savannah, the hint of prey and the thrill of the hunt. The safety of pack.

She dreams of the spirit she becomes one with. It's joy at her strength. How she and her brothers had become so much more. But they have to be, they are sacred warriors now, tasked with the protection of their kinsmen against the creatures that hunt them.

She dreams about strategy meetings, spears stained with rancid demon blood. She dreams of fighting alongside her brothers, of hunting prey worthy enough to woo her wife.

Every new battle makes them better. Stronger, faster, even smarted, sometimes. Adds more knowledge to the lore. New ways to kill the things that threaten their kind. War wounds than fade at the dawn.

The sun heals them now, they can hold its light inside of themselves, release a flare of it in front of the creatures that wear the faces of lost kin. Burn them to ash.

When Cordelia wakes, she is so much more than herself. She is more than the man her new Spirit was once with. She is more than the Spirit could have ever hoped for. More than the sum of her parts.

She is a bearer of light. It dwells in her soul, shines through her skin to illuminate the world.

She smiles, wild, feral, and beautiful. The world won't know what hit it.

xXx

Xander feels too wired to sleep. It's not exactly a new situation. Ever since Buffy came to town and he found out all about the real night life in his town, he's hit with a weird energy sometimes. It makes it near impossible to sleep. It leaves him restless, it makes him want to take a stake and go from door to door with a cross, stake every single vampire he finds.

But he's not quite that stupid. So he sticks to tossing and turning instead. He has loads to think about anyway.

Xander knows he should say something. It's not a question in the least. There is something very, very wrong with Cordelia. Something the Hellmouth has done to her. Something they should figure out and fix before her new found lust for him ends up with Xander losing something important, like his virginity.

Not that he doesn't want to lose his virginity. He's a teenage boy. His virginity is pretty much up for grabs to the first girl that shows any interest. But he sure as hell doesn't want to lose it to a girl under the influence of something freaky. That brings up all sorts of consensual issues and other things that make him squick.

So a few hours after Cordelia cornered him to snuggle and interrogate him, of all things, when he cant take it anymore, he heads straight to the library. It's probably a little too early, but having Cordelia molest him in the dawn isn't exactly conductive to sleeping. So the quicker they figure this out, the quicker Xander can get some shut eye. He'll catch up on his sleep in class. They have to figure out ho to deal with this first.

Technically he doesn't have to wait for Giles very long. But the minutes feel like hours and by the time G-man shows Xander is ready to tear his hair out. Giles takes one look at his disheveled appearance and pulls off his glasses.

" What on earth are you doing here so early, Xander?" He asks, and he begins to polish the lenses.

Xander opens his mouth, ready to launch into a tirade about Cordelia, hellmouthy evil, and how they have to figure this out yesterday. Make it stop as quickly as possible and restore the world to it's previous sanity. What he doesn't count on is the way the words stick in his throat.

" Um." He manages." Help?"

" I would be delighted to help you Xander. If only you would tell me what you require my assistance with?" Giles says, exasperation clear.

Xander can't even blame him, exactly. He doesn't get why he's been reduced to one word answers. Maybe it's the vain hope that he can still pretend none of it happens so long as no one else knows about it. Then a throat clears behind them and Xander's foolish hope dies a quick painful death.

xXx

She's not surprised to find her mate with the Librarian. She'd smelled him on the grounds the second she'd arrived. It adds a spring to her step. Sleeping in the sun has restored her completely. Her kind doesn't need rest the way other humans do. Cordelia isn't terribly certain she still counts as a human, but she is pretty sure she doesn't really care.

She wonders if Xander will. Once she turns him.

The business with her mate is tricky. And now that she's rested enough to think straight, it's starting to get annoying. She gets that they have years of feuding between them, but none of it matters in the face of how perfectly they compliment each other. Xander is hers, whether he wants to be or not. And there's no sure fire way of breaking it to him with out breaking his dweeby little brain along the way.

It would be easier if she could just turn him so he could see for himself.

But she can't. At least, not without getting his permission first. That way lies broken trust and an inability to function properly as mates. And they need to function. Cordelia needs her mate to be her mate completely, her partner in every way that matters.

They are at the frontline of a very dangerous war. Cordelia can't afford to have the one person she should be able to count on the most second guessing her, or his place at her side. She needs Xander to be her other half, to pick up the slack and care for the pack in the ways she can't. The ways only an omega can.

It's quite the chore that she needs to show him that he is an omega first. That he belongs at her side, with the pack. Convincing him to ditch his loser friends is going to be impossible, Cordelia knows. Xander's loyalty is diamond hard, whether it's deserved or not. Her only real choice is to show him that she needs him more than they do, that he'll be doing more good at her side.

Appeal to him the best way she knows how. Xander always wants to help.

The first step is honesty. She's going to need him to trust her. And honesty is the best way to go about that. Full disclosure. Cordelia enters the Library ready to put all her cards on the table.

She clears her throat, drawing both males attention.

" So I heard you're the guy I'm supposed to talk about our monster problem?"

xXx

" So you're a Primal now? No longer possessed by the hyena?" Giles asks, just to be sure.

The girl before him nods, and there's something regal in the gesture. There is something incredibly different about Cordelia. Something dangerous, according to the girl herself. Looking into the golden brown of her eyes, Giles believes her. And he'd thought she'd been a terror as a cheerleader...

" Wait, wait!" Xander bursts out, startling him. The teenager had been avidly holding onto Cordelia's every word. Very out of character of him. Xander had been been acting strangely since Giles had walked in, agitated and unable to speak at length. Of course he wasn't sure what to worry over more, the fact that someone as verbose as Xander had been having trouble speaking, or that he'd arrived to school even earlier than Giles had." If you're all grrr now, why did you...You know! This morning, why would you do that?"

Giles looks between the teenagers in alarm. He's not sure what's going on, but if it has to do with Cordelia's newfound state, he's fairly certain it's going to give him a headache.

Cordelia leaned back, a self satisfied expression on her face. " Oh that. See back when I had a full pack the only thing that was missing to my mentality at the time was a mate. But then I smelled you."

The Library goes dead silent for a moment, both males attempting furiously to process the words. Cordelia stares at them, expectant.

Giles drops his glasses and doesn't really notice, mind going into overdrive. He'd been right, he noted distantly, as his temple began to throb.

Xander paled quite impressibly, and squeaked in alarm."Mate?"

Cordelia smirked, dialing up her self satisfaction a few notches." Yes. You're mine. Congrats loser, you scored the very best this dump has to offer."

" But you hate me!" Xander groans, tugging miserably at his hair." And I hate you. We were happy hating each other. Can't we go back to that? Please lets just go back to that. That made sense."

Cordelia shook her head, amused." Why would I want to do that? You're an Omega. Your kind lives for the pack. You'll thank me when I turn you."

" Turn me!" Xander exclaimed, backing away from the table." No turning! No way! The Xand-man is a no turning zone. I don't want to change species!"

" Calm down, dweeb boy." The cheerleader said, rolling her eyes. " Not yet. I won't turn you until you want me to. But start thinking about it. I'm still mostly human, anyway. Just a few extras."

" Like Buffy?" Xander asks hopefully.

" What about Buffy?" Cordelia demands. The other girl has 'extras' as well?

" Buffy is not the subject of discussion." Giles cuts in, instinctively protective of his Slayer and her secrets." You are, Cordelia. I thought you were no longer a hyena. Why would you want a mate if that was truly the case?"

The girl crossed her arms, defiant." I don't want one. I have one. Xander is mine. He was the second I figured out what he was. And when I fixed myself the primal was a little different. We both were, by the time we blended. Getting possessed changed us."

" What do you mean my kind?" Xander demanded suddenly, cutting in." I'm all human. Im not an Omega, whatever that is."

" I know you are." Cordelia said." Omega is your nature, like Alpha is mine. It's not a creature or anything doofus. I can smell it on you. It makes us perfect for each other."

" Wait. So you wanna jump me now because I smell good." Xander said, incredulous." You get turned into a primal thingy and all of a sudden you think I'm perfect?"

" I'm not saying I don't think you're a dweeb anymore. I'm saying you're my dweeb now. We're perfect together. Alpha abd Omega." Cordelia clarifies." if you'd let me turn you, I could just show you, you know."

Giles has to bite back a groan, headache steadily becoming a migraine once the realization dawned." You can turn people like you?"

" I'm really strong." Cordelia says frankly." It's why the primal chose me. I could turn Xander more easily than anyone else though. Since he's my mate."

" Please stop saying that word." Xander says, collapsing on a chair." My head hurts."

" I can fix that." Cordelia declares, reaching over and placing her palm on Xander's head.

Giles watches, fascinated and rather envious, as her palm glows. Xander moans softly, melting under her hand at the ministration.

" That feels amazing." Xander muttered. Sounding dazed.

" It'd feel even better if you were like me." Cordelia promises." My light and yours are made for each other."

" You can heal people?" Giles asks, hopeful. It would be a very useful power on the hell-mouth. One he could certainly use at the moment.

Cordelia shrugs." Just people that are mine. I wouldn't be able to do this right now if Xander wasn't my mate."

" Ah yes, about that." Giles begin awkwardly." You are aware such terms aren't socially acceptable? You must keep your status as a Primal a secret. And calling a young man your mate would draw unnecessary attention to your new found state."

" Im not stupid." The cheer leader complained. " All I have are losers in my pack right now, anyway. You think I'm going to stand for that? No way. I have a plan."

The bell rings and Giles has no time to interrogate the girl about her so called plan. The ominous shiver down his spine at the words speaks for itself.

xXx

Jonathan and Kyle stick close together once she tells them not to interact with her at school. Cordelia finds herself oddly jealous. But she can't jeopardize her status as alpha female of the school. The tittle has plenty of uses all on it's own. And she needs all the power and status she can scrounge up.

Cheerleading is a necessary evil.

The routines are easier than they have ever been, but the squad is time consuming. Once she factored in the weird looks she was getting and Harmony's annoying comments about 'her new friends', her annoyance was reaching critical levels.

At least they got to work in the sun. It was the only reason Cordelia had managed to keep from snapping at Harmony. She was busy scoping out the other cheerleaders anyway. She hadn't been kidding when she told Giles she had a plan. But it was missing a few crucial details.

Like what popular people Cordelia would bring in to the pack. She looked at her fair weather friends. Influence was important to her, and she would need people on her side if she ever wanted to drag the rest of her pack out of loserdom. Harmony was clearly out of the running just from her ability to be annoying. She did not want to spend the rest of her life taking care of the airhead.

Aura was a big possibility. But she wasn't sure what way she would lead. Aura was pretty and popular, she was good at cutting girls down when the mood took her, but she had never shown any leadership skills or any desire for more social power. Aura was one of the few, rare people who seemed genuinely happy where she was. She stuck by social rules religiously and had never had a falling out Cordelia was aware of.

She wasn't sure about the other girls in the squad either. The older ones didn't appeal to her as they would graduate relatively soon and Cordelia did not want any of her pack where she couldn't supervise it.

The younger ones were out for similar reasons. She didn't want any of them stuck in Sunny Dale high when she wasn't. She sighed as the older girls dismissed them. Taking the long way to avoid sweaty football players that seemed to think they were at their most attractive straight out of practice.

They were dead wrong. And Cordelia had detested the smell long before she gained her enhanced senses. She breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of the danger zone. Perking up when she detected an interesting scent. She knew that smell. Cordelia took a deep breath, scenting the air and following the sweet, spicy scent.

It smelled like magic. She followed it back out of the school, under some bleachers.

" Amy?"

The other girl jumped, clearly startled, but there was no denying it. The scent was coming from her. The way she snapped the book she was studying closed and hid it behind her was pretty sketchy as well.

Cordelia cocked her head to the side." What are you doing studying magic?"

" You know about magic?" Amy squeaked.

Cordelia smiled," I am magic. Would you like to be?"

Slowly, hesitantly, Amy nodded.

Cordelia wondered why only losers presented interesting abilities. At this rate her pack would drag her down to loserdom with them.

**XxX**

**So I'm a terrible human being. And really, really bad at responsibility. Sorry?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Queen of the Wild**

**by :muaaimoi**

Summary: _What if it was a Cordette that the mean kids were picking on that day? We all know Cordelia would never stand for that. Things go very differently when the Queen of Sunny-dale holds the Primal._

xXx

Introducing Amy to the rest of the pack goes pretty well. She can literally smell the interest coming off of Jonathan.

So will Amy, once she turns her. Cordelia can see so much more of the world now that she can scent things. It's like opening her eyes for the first time. It's one of the few things that didn't change once she got rid of her hyena. Her sense of smell is constantly feeding her information about the world around her.

She'd been so blind, before. Her nose works so much better than her eyes ever did.

It worries her that Xander was still the same way, still hostage to his humanity. She wished he'd show some interest in becoming a Primal already. Not only was Xander blind to the scents around him, Omegas had very trusting natures. That would only get him into very, very big trouble.

Cordelia bit back a growl at the thought.

At least introducing Amy to Giles would give her an excuse to spend more time with her mate. Not that Cordelia needed any. Xander was hers. And she'd treat him that way whether Xander wanted her to or not. That was non-negotiable. But it would have to wait until she had the Giles situation more figured out.

She'd been tempted to go ahead and just make Amy pack under the bleachers, but now that Giles knew about her, she had to be careful. It would only benefit her in the long run to be blatantly upfront about her actions. Honesty had always come easily to her, and it was nice not to have to waste energy in elaborate deceptions. But there was a certain grey area where her pack was concerned. Her instincts wouldn't allow her to purposely endanger them regardless. But now, as new and fragile as it was, there was no way she was exposing them to Giles.

He could know about them. But there would only be monitored interactions allowed. She didn't fully trust him just because Xander did. Amy especially would help her case. Becoming a primal wouldn't change her so much as bring forth whatever strength her humanity caged. It was certainly what happened to Cordelia. What would happen to Xander once they could truly be together.

Mate's in every sense of the word. It was going to be beautiful. So Cordelia would force herself to be patient. Xander was well worth it.

And she really couldn't afford to alienate Giles anyway.

The guy had to have resources she didn't know about. Possible hidden abilities, if the comment Xander made about Buffy was any clue. If he was part of the people keeping a lid on the demon problem, she couldn't afford to have him as an enemy either. She was too ignorant of the state of the war at present.

It would endlessly complicate things if Giles thought she was evil and turning people against their will.

So Amy had to first state her willingness. Hopefully, it would also make Xander more curious about becoming one of them. Sighing to herself, she led her new potential Pack member into the Library.

xXx

The silence in the Library is almost audible. Everyone is just short of bursting with a torrent of words, but they don't. There's no possible way any of them could find the right words. And even the wrong ones don't actually manage to make it to their tongues.

No one looks like they could actually speak right now.

Except for maybe Giles, but he'd just finished with a long winded explanation, so maybe he'd need time to recharge his watcher powers of speech.

Out of all of them Xander is the only one holding a bunch of apologies back though. He doesn't want to be sorry when he doesn't even know why he feels that way. And he really, really does. He want's to beg them to forgive him, and he doesn't know why. He hasn't actually done anything wrong.

The girls aren't even looking at Giles anymore. Now their eyes are trained on him and Xander feels like the kid who got called on in class right after he'd finished a great nap. Xander is that kid a lot. He should be used to the feeling by now. But he's not. He doesn't get why it's always horrible, being put on the spot like that.

He thinks it's the anger, or maybe the disdain. He can never get used to that. It still upsets him when his parent's are angry with him sometimes, and they're always angry. Especially with him. About the only thing they seem to agree on is that he ruined their lives.

It probably doesn't help that Buffy and Willow, even while they're stuck being quiet, have very loud opinions.

As it was, it has taken Giles shouting in a remarkably non-Giles way before the girls had quieted down enough to actually listen to what he was saying. And he knows they'd really been listening because they started staring at him.

Xander had curled into himself for most of it.

Attempting to minimize the target of their rage is standard practice when people glare at him,. Buffy and Willow are not happy with him.

Once he'd 'fessed up about Cordelia kissing him, both girls had started giving him the evil eye. Apparently they would have taken Cordelia giving him smoochies as ample proof that something was very wrong with her. Xander couldn't help but be a little insulted at first.

Just a little though, seeing as he'd thought the same thing. And he'd been right. Very right. They all were. Something was massively Hellmouthily wrong with Cordelia.

Except that according to Giles she actually wasn't. The Primals are an actual thing. Apparently watchers from a very long time ago had partnerships with some of them while they searched for Slayer. Until something had happened and they had all gone extinct. All except for Cordelia apparently.

Giles had stressed that this was an excellent opportunity. Watchers had theorized that the reason the demon population of Africa hadn't required Slayers for three hundred years was because of those chosen warriors.

Xander can admit that the idea of being a mystical warrior is appealing. Especially if it means he can kill vampires by himself. He also like's the idea of helping Buffy. Protecting Willow all on his own. He'd normally be all for it. But he's just not all for being with Cordelia, and that's a clear requirement if he wants into the whole Primal club.

The mate thing seriously wigs him out. Xander can't quite wrap his mind around it. A world in which Cordelia Chase believes they belong together is not a world Xander particularly wants to live in. It's crazy, so crazy. It even squicks him.

Really, it does.

Except for sometimes, when it sort of doesn't.

Cordelia is a remarkably attractive version of a human female. And even though he really, really doesn't like her, he has eyes. Cordelia's beautiful, no one can deny that. At least he has an explanation for the kissage now. Not that the whole thing isn't still terrifying. It's just that he knows that there _is_ a reason for it now. And that helps a little.

Well that, and the way he feels when Cordelia touches him is new. He's trying really hard not to think about it. Even before she'd made his headache go away, and that had been seriously cool. But the touching. That, it was totally wiggy, only in a weird, almost nice way.

And when she's snuggled him before...

His skin felt different where it touched her. The interest wasn't even sexual. Little Xand hadn't reacted to it, anyway. It just felt good. Simply good, like the breeze on your face on a hot day, or the first bite into a Twinkie when all the filling burst in your mouth. Xander couldn't resist it. He'd been thinking about it all day.

Or well, trying not to think about it.

Xander liked it. He liked it a lot. And that was definitely a problem. Seeing as Cordelia wanted to own him, and turn him into something he didn't understand. Giles research approved or not. Mystical warrior mojo sounded way cool, but he didn't actually know what it was.

Or what turning would even do to him. Giles said it made them stronger, and something about an elemental alignment. But that didn't mean much to Xander.

Did he mean muscle man strong or Buffy strong? Could he tell when it was going to rain or go all Storm from the x-man and fry people with lightning?

Cordelia herself walked in before Xander could ask Giles anything.

**XxX**

**So we all see the cat fight coming in the next chapter right?**


End file.
